Board of Directors
Brad Knighton
Brad Knighton currently is a New England Revolution Academy Head Coach for the Under-19 age group. He also serves as the Director of Goalkeeping within the academy. After taking over the Under-19 team last April, the team went on to win the MLS Next National Championship in Frisco, Texas. Most recently, he has spent time with the MLS NEXT PRO New England Revolution II team as an interim assistant coach.
Charles H. Steedman
Charles H. (Chuck) Steedman currently is a founding partner in a private equity fund targeting investments across four core verticals in sports—professional franchises, real estate and infrastructure development, media rights and content delivery platforms and sports technology. In his role, he has been responsible for the startup of the US $1.5bb fund (Raptor Sports Capital), including raising funds, coordinating deal flow and target investment analysis, serving as a member of the investment and operating committees as well as structuring special purpose vehicles for targeted acquisitions.
Aidan Heaney
Aidan Heaney is the current Head Coach at UNCW and has been for the past 23 seasons. A native of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Aidan was a Goalkeeper and was recruited to play at UNC Charlotte from 1988-1992 following time at Newcastle United as a youth and member of the England Schools U18 national team. He graduated with a degree in International Business in 1992.
Becca Clayton
Becca is Olivia’s aunt and Godmother. She is Mom to Olivia’s two cousins, Luke and Nora. Becca has been teaching Kindergarten at Summerfield Charter Academy for the past four years. She loves helping kids set and reach their academic goals and is especially passionate about early literacy and the Science of Reading. She lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Lauren Shields
Lauren Shields has spent most of her career at JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), where she joined as Outreach Manager in January 2006 and currently serves as the Interim Executive Director. In her current role, she oversees the Greater New England Chapter’s fundraising and community engagement efforts, with an additional focus on stewardship, advocacy, board and volunteer management, and chapter operations. Lauren credits her passion and commitment to JDRF’s mission to the countless volunteers, supporters, and colleagues she has partnered and collaborated with over her 17-year journey with the organization and is thankful for her part in providing support, education, and connection to those impacted by type 1 diabetes and working with donors and event participants to fund groundbreaking research to cure, prevent, and treat the disease. Prior to JDRF, Lauren worked at the American Lung Association and Brodeur Partners, a Boston-based communications agency. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Sociology from Regis College.
Greg Oliff, CFA
Greg Oliff currently serves as the Co-Director of the nearly $14 billion Fixed Income Program at Virginia Retirement System (VRS). He has worked at VRS since 2010, spending most of that time in a portfolio management role within the Fixed Income Program. Greg currently serves on the management committee and is responsible for several fund level mandates at VRS. Prior to joining VRS, Greg was an Associate Equity Analyst at BB&T Capital Markets covering transportation and automotive aftermarket equities.
Samantha Watson
Samantha Watson is a philanthropic consultant with more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She is the founder of The SAMFund (now part of Expect Miracles Foundation), the first and largest nonprofit in the US dedicated to supporting young adults in their financial recovery from cancer. In January of 2023, she created Samantha Watson Consulting to help nonprofits, individuals, and corporations make a meaningful and authentic impact and she is honored to bring that experience to the Board of the Olivia Knighton Foundation.